Laura Mercier Smooth Focus Pressed Setting Powder

It’s not often I indulge myself in higher end makeup brands, but Laura Mercier is one of those brands that I’ve been curious about for a long time. I’ve heard many great things about her product line. Having a Sephora gift card burning a hole into my wallet, I quickly decided to spend it on my first Laura Mercier product — the Smooth Focus Pressed Setting Powder – Shine Control.

On the Laura Mercier website:

Product Description:

Control shine and visibly eliminate shine and controls oil breakthrough thanks to the naturally derived Shine Control Complex. The velvety pressed powder is ideal for touch-ups throughout the day so makeup stays fresh, flawless and shine-free.

The lightweight powder is ultra-sheer with a mint green tint that works to correct redness and visible even skin tone.

Oil-free, paraben-free, talc-free, and fragrance-free.

How to use:

Begin with the sponge side of the applicator by picking up the powder from the compact using a dabbing motion. Lightly press onto the back of the hand to evenly dispense the product into the applicator. Next, using a light patting motion, gently press the powdered sponge onto the oily areas of the face; focusing on the forehead, cheeks and chin. As a finishing step, use the flocked, puff side of the applicator to softly buff away any excess powder for a matte, flawless finish. To prevent emphasizing lines and shadows, only use pigmented powders to flat surfaces, never around the eyes or mouth.

As the description states, this is a very finely milled powder with a light green tint (pretty much translucent) that claims to correct redness and even out skin tone. At first I was hesitant to even purchase this powder because some translucent powders can sometimes leave a ghost-like, powdery finish over the skin. The Sephora associate showed me the ingredients and this powder does not include talc (which is typically the ingredient that can make powders leave a powdery finish). She dusted a bit of the powder onto my T-zone and there was no trace of “green” or excess powder.

I have tried the “How to use” instructions twice with this powder and to be honest, I found it to be quite tedious and didn’t actually make that much of a difference as far as setting my makeup or lasting power. What I like to do is take a big powder face brush, dab and swirl gently into the compact, tap off the excess and dab gently onto my face and then dust lightly over my forehead, nose and chin. Also, I don’t need a lot of this powder to do the trick – a little bit goes a long way.

As far as setting power goes, on a typical day, I’d say this will keep me shine-free for about 4-6 hours. Usually, my nose gets shiny first (around the 4-5 hour mark) then my forehead (around the 6-7 hour mark). A light dusting of this maybe twice at most, per day, is what I tend to use. Also, it depends on the type of foundation I’m wearing — for a longer-wear , matte foundation, I don’t necessarily need more than one touch up with this powder during the day.

I’ve tried a lot of setting powders, but I have to say that so far the Laura Mercier Smooth Focus Pressed Setting Powder is one that I really like. I like that it doesn’t leave my face looking powdery upon first application or with the touch-ups throughout the day.

I’m already making a list of other Laura Mercier products I want to try out. I hear a TON of great things about her foundations and tinted moisturizers… excited to try!!

I purchased this at Sephora (with a $30 gift card, yay!) and it retails for $41 Cdn.

I have my eye on LM tinted moisturizers… summer’s on the way and I want something lighter on my skin but still can provide some coverage. I’ve heard good things about her tinted moisturizers. What primer to you have? I’m curious about those too!

I’ve never tried their tinted moisturisers but again I’ve heard great things. I just have the foundation primer, if am honest I don’t see a huge difference from wearing it compared to my body shop tea tree primer but I would recommend. 😊

If I ever do decide to try something else from LM, I will probably pick up a tinted moisturizer. I’m not too keen on spending loads on primers and most drugstore brands work adequately on me already. Thanks again for reading and your comment!

Try their under eye concealer, if you haven’t done it yet, because it’s worth the price tag. I swatched many of their products recently, from foundations, to bb creams, to lip products and I would certainly be willing to splurge for the Silk foundation, as it is oil free but full coverage and I haven’t got a similar product. Probably not the easiest to wear in the hot months, but good for filming, photos and special occasions. 😉